


Please Stand Up

by agrajag



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21568609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agrajag/pseuds/agrajag
Summary: Comedy wasn't exactly Eddie'sthing.It wasn't as if he didn't like to laugh. He loved funny movies and he enjoyed a good joke now and again. He just wasn't into any particular comedians. He wasn't watching stand up on Comedy Central and he definitely wasn't going to a comedy club any time soon. Then one day his coworker asked him if he wanted tickets to a comedy show for the following week. He had won them from a radio show, but then he and his fiancee were unable to go.[...]He looked [the comedian] up when he got home, and he absolutelyhatedhis dirty jokes. [...] But then the first joke that surprised a laugh out of him came, and he ended up watching every single video he could find on YouTube.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Richie Tozier/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 118





	Please Stand Up

**Author's Note:**

> this is another richie coming out during stand up story although this is set a few years before chapter 2 takes place so it's eddie going to the show not realizing that he knows richie

Comedy wasn't exactly Eddie's _thing_. It wasn't as if he didn't like to laugh. He loved funny movies and he enjoyed a good joke now and again. He just wasn't into any particular comedians. He wasn't watching stand up on Comedy Central and he definitely wasn't going to a comedy club any time soon. Then one day his coworker asked him if he wanted tickets to a comedy show for the following week. He had won them from a radio show, but then he and his fiancee were unable to go. Eddie didn't have anyone else to take with him, and he certainly wasn't going to go alone, so he had refused them at first. His coworker wasn't about to take no as an answer, though, so he insisted Eddie take at least one. It was general seating, so it wasn't like he was going to end up awkwardly sitting next to another one of their coworkers.  
  
And that's how Eddie (as well as Amelia from Human Resources) found himself with a ticket to see some comedian named Richie Tozier. He looked him up when he got home, and he absolutely _hated_ his dirty jokes. Yet, he found himself oddly drawn to him. At first it wasn't because he found him funny, but because he had a terrible taste in men and thought he was hot. He had come to terms with his terrible taste years ago. But then the first joke that surprised a laugh out of him came, and he ended up watching every single video he could find on YouTube. Before he knew it, it was nearly midnight, and he really had to get some sleep if he didn't want to be a total zombie the next day at work.  
  
Well, technically, that day.  
  
So he was pretty excited about the show.  
  
Never having gone to a comedy show before, he wasn't sure how to dress. He settled on one of his favorite polo shirts with a sports jacket over it, and he at least attempted to style his hair a little cooler than he normally did. He arrived almost an hour before the doors even opened, so he was able to snag a seat in the front row. There was a waiter walking around, taking drink orders, and Eddie waved him down so he could get a beer and hopefully calm his nerves. Because he was literally going to be about ten feet away from Richie Tozier. It was terrifying.  
  
Hopefully once Richie Tozier started telling jokes, Eddie would stop thinking about how attractive he found him.  
  
His beer arrived, and Eddie chugged half of it within a minute. He finished his drink with still half an hour before the show was to begin, so he took a quick bathroom trip before ordering a second which he forced himself to sip slowly. Soon enough, the lights were dimming and the M.C. was announcing Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier.  
  
The audience stood as they applauded the comedian walking onto the stage. Richie was wearing a bright, obnoxious button up shirt under a corduroy jacket, and Eddie questioned his sanity. He rested against the microphone stand, immediately talking a drink from the water bottle next to it. He waited for the applause to die down and then picked up the microphone to express his thanks.  
  
"Yeah, it's great to be in New York City again," he said. "I had almost forgot what a rat looks like. Like, we have them in Chicago, but they don't normally venture up into the streets. They know better." That got the first laugh of the night. Even Richie laughed himself. "Yeah, no, they know better. They know they're gonna get blown away. Like, _I_ almost get blown away, so you can just imagine all the rats just flying by like the shit in Kansas when Dorothy uprooted everything."  
  
Eddie could feel himself relaxing. He was no longer on the edge of his seat, and he took another sip of his beer as he settled in for a fun night.  
  
"Um, yeah, so I've been calling this tour Taking the Trash Out. I wanted to do a coming out joke that hadn't been done to death yet, so why not a play on my stage name, right?"  
  
At first, it was deadly silent in the room. Then there was hushed whispers coming from every corner as it really _hit_ everyone. Eddie honestly felt like his heart had dropped out of his chest. Was Richie, the guy who joked constantly about his never ending revolving door of girlfriends, seriously saying that he was...?  
  
"Yeah, that's right. I'm gay. But don't worry, dedicated fans. I'm still going to make crass jokes. Don't think being gay is going to stop me from doing that. It's just that I have a boyfriend instead of a girlfriend. Which, hey! That means twice as many dick jokes, and I _know_ that's what you're here for."  
  
There was some nervous laughter at that, and it eased some of the tension in the room. It didn't help Eddie, though, because his new found celebrity crush was gay like him. That meant he had a chance. Well, theoretically had a chance. It's not like Richie Tozier even knew who he was.  
  
"So, yeah, I _do_ have a boyfriend. Since coming out, I realized why women are so picky. Like, we as men are so gross." The women in the audience cheered, and that finally seemed to break the spell, and things were slowly transitioning back to normal. Richie smiled as he continued. "We're so gross! I went on a few dates and was like, 'That's it. It's just going to be me and my right hand for the rest of my life.' But then I met Brian, and there was hope."  
  
A loud 'aw' reverberated around the room.  
  
"Thanks guys. Really. You're not going to think it's adorable when you realize what a fucking dick he is, though. So, yeah, I met Brian who is bi and I was like 'Why the fuck would you pick me then? Men suck.' Like, he had twice the people to choose from and he still picked me, so he obviously either has bad taste, which you've seen me." Richie gestured to himself and even Eddie laughed at that. "So, we know that much. But either he has bad taste or he's the biggest masochist to ever exist."  
  
Richie paused for a moment to take another drink. Eddie finished off his beer as well, hoping his hands would stop shaking. Of course Richie had a boyfriend. He was charming and funny, so of course he did. It actually was a comfort for Eddie, but he was still freaking out a little bit about the whole gay thing.  
  
"So, Brian works in movies. He's a make up artist, and his favorite thing is doing horror movies. He's obsessed with all those monsters, which I don't get. It freaks me out. Like, I was terrified by I Was a Teenage Werewolf when I was a kid." There were some whoops in the audience. "Oh, you guys love that movie? Well, it sucks."  
  
Everyone laughed loudly at that.  
  
"Like, it was old when I was a kid, but it still scared the shit out of me. Couldn't let people know _that_ , though. I told people it was clowns that freaked me out, because it was the 80s. _Everyone_ hated clowns, right?"  
  
Wait. Eddie suddenly had a vivid mental image of a lanky kid with big glasses saying he was scared of clowns as one juggled some bowling pins in the background. He remembered being absolutely terrified himself and hoping the other boy could be brave enough for both of them. He had always had trouble remembering his childhood, and that sudden image knocked him back. Muddy memory or not, he was positive he had never had a friend that looked like that, though.  
  
"So Brian was working on some werewolf movie and would be showing me designs and he totally caught on that I was freaking out. So I had to admit to him that I was fucking terrified of werewolves, which is not fun to have to admit when you're in your fucking thirties. And now, side note: Brian has been out a lot longer than me. Like, he knows shit about the community that I don't know, and he was like 'Wow. That's so cliche, Rich' and I'm like 'What?' Turns out werewolves are gay." The audience exploded at that. "No! Really! Apparently werewolves are like a whole ass metaphor for being gay! I Was a Teenage Werewolf was a classic with gay men. Brian even said it was a huge inspiration for him, and I'm like 'Get outta town.'"  
  
Thinking about it, Eddie had to admit that made sense. It wasn't something he had ever thought about, but he supposed anyone outside of 'the norm' could relate to 'the monster' character. He knew all too well how terrifying it was being different from everyone else around you.  
  
"But he was like 'No, seriously. It was so big that this gay director did a remake of sorts with I Was a Teenage Werebear and made it explicitly gay.' And I'm like, 'Well, how the hell did he do that?' and Brian said, 'Well... it's a musical.'"  
  
The audience was laughing once more, but Richie continued speaking over the laughter to add the true punchline.  
  
"'And, well, the werebears are leather daddies.'"  
  
The people in Eddie's row were honestly wiping away tears, they were laughing so hard.  
  
The rest of the show was equally hilarious. Eddie had to admit, he didn't really calm down until Richie got off the topic of his boyfriend. Though there were still a few instances when Richie would say something, and Eddie would feel as if he was flung back in time. The doctors he had gone to, once it was obvious he had amnesia, had said that there might be times that something would trigger a memory, but it had never happened before. He had accepted that he was never going to get his childhood back, and then in the middle of a comedian's stand up routine, he was having what must have been flashbacks. That lanky boy seemed to be in a lot of them, and now that Eddie could see him clearly in his mind, it was hard to not admit that he looked awfully like Richie Tozier.  
  
No, they couldn't be real memories. It was just wishful thinking on Eddie's part.  
  
Now _that_ was a joke.  
  
After the show, Eddie made his way to the bar to get one last drink and maybe say hi to Amelia before getting a cab home. Amelia, however, left not too long after the show ended, since she actually had a family and a life outside of work unlike Eddie. He was left sitting there, playing idly with the label on his beer bottle. He wasn't exactly the type of person to play on his phone if he was somewhere by himself, but he couldn't sit still and relax. He ended up pretending to check his messages when a hand clapped down on his shoulder.  
  
"Well, hello there handsome," said an all too familiar voice.  
  
"Oh, uh, hi," Eddie said as he turned to face none other than Richie Tozier. What the hell was he supposed to say in this kind of situation. "That was, uh, an amazing show."  
  
"Thanks!" Richie said with a megawatt smile. "So, this isn't a pick up line, I swear to God, but I saw you in the front row and I just... You look so familiar. Have we met?"  
  
"I think I would remember if we had met," Eddie joked, and Richie laughed. Holy shit. He had made a comedian laugh. That was a weird but wonderful high. "I'm Eddie, by the way."  
  
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Eddie." Richie patted Eddie's shoulder a couple more times and then finally took his hand away. Eddie wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed. "So, um, do you want an autograph? Or a picture?"  
  
"Yeah, that would be great."  
  
With his phone already in his hand, it was simple enough to lean in and snap a picture. The flash went off and suddenly Eddie was thirteen again and in a photo booth. There were several other kids in with him, including the lanky boy. They made faces for most of the photos, but then the last one was all smiles, and the lanky boy had his arm around Eddie's shoulders. And Eddie just knew -- he was Richie Tozier. He had known Richie Tozier.  
  
He glanced up at Richie, whose eyes were blown wide.  
  
"Eds," he whispered, and then he yelled, "You're the asshole who stuck me with Trashmouth!"  
  
"Uh, no. I think that was Stan. Holy shit. Stan? I forgot Stan."  
  
"How could we forget? How could _I_ forget _you_? How did it take a picture to remember?"  
  
Eddie rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands.  
  
"God, I have no idea. It was just another weird part of my life that I had to deal with, but at least I had accepted it. Now I'm gonna have to deal with remembering. Like, shit, I knew a celebrity."  
  
"You _know_ a celebrity," Richie said, and Eddie raised an eyebrow. "Dude, I'm not letting you get away. We're totally keeping in contact now. Gimme your phone."  
  
Richie didn't wait for Eddie, grabbing the phone, and he put his number in.  
  
"So, I'm just supposed to text a celebrity?"  
  
"Stop saying I'm a celebrity. I'm your best friend. Well, I was, and I'd like to be your friend again." Someone came out from backstage and started yelling at Richie that they had to get moving. "Hey, I have to go, but seriously. Please send a message some time. We have to catch up."  
  
Eddie spent the rest of the night floating on Cloud 9. For the first time in about twenty years, he had an idea of who he was, and he had Richie to help him rediscover himself.  
  
Then the following Monday at work, his coworker asked him how he enjoyed the show, and he had trouble remembering how it had gone. He gave a pretty generic answer. Yeah, it was good. He had a fun time. God, he hoped that he didn't ask about any of the jokes. He couldn't have told you one if his life depended on it. He did find it odd that he had accepted the free ticket considering that comedy wasn't exactly his _thing_.


End file.
